SPOTLIGHT BEAMS BRIGHT ON ROOKIE’S FIRST DAY OF LEARNING

It has been ages since someone landed at Chargers Park with this much fanfare, and here’s where we insert “Ryan Leaf” and let the groaning begin.

But Te’o came off as the anti-Leaf, even if his every action was intercepted by the Fourth Estate.

Te’o was front-and-center when the team stretched. He was first to finish in competitions between linebackers. He likely helped some senior citizen across the street when we weren’t looking.

That’s Te’o. And when he met with the press, everyone came away impressed. He was measured in his remarks, a mixture of gratitude and grace.

“I think I was more excited than I was nervous,” Te’o said after practice. “It’s a new beginning. It’s a new chapter in my life.”

The manual on Te’o is filled with awards, accolades and an endless supply of giggles after being the victim of a hoax that included a fake girlfriend. That tale is invisible to us today, although we’re not sure of the over-under on press conferences before the story fades.

“It doesn’t really matter what people say,” Te’o said. “The only thing that matters to me is what I do on the field and what my teammates know me as. Know me as a guy who works hard and loves the game.”

Not sure if the game will return that affection, but the media’s heart skips a beat with Te’o. The NFL has consumed and regurgitated many a can’t-miss rookie, regardless of lofty reputations.

But Te’o, a second-round selection, has the inside track on the inside linebacker’s job, and if he doesn’t earn it by opening day, we’ll reach for the smelling salts.

“When you take a player like we did and where we did,” Chargers coach Mike McCoy said, “you want him to come in and play.”

It’s real now, for Te’o and the Chargers.

If Te’o gets up to speed quickly, Manti Mania will be at Mach 5.

Although the NFL, and its veterans, have ways of bringing young men down to earth.

“I know a lot of things have been going on with him,” Fluker said. “But other than that, he comes to work.”

Which means San Diego’s media, and its national brethren, are going to be busy.